Cannabis team makes further breakthrough
9 Jul 2015
A research team at the University of East Anglia (UEA) has managed to separate the medical benefits of cannabis from its unwanted side effects.
The breakthrough comes from the same team that discovered how the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), reduces tumour growth in cancer patients.
In its latest findings, the research team revealed how the cognitive effects of THC are triggered by a pathway that is separate from some of its other effects.
“THC, the major active component of marijuana, has broad medical use - including for pain relief, nausea and anxiety
UEA’s Peter McCormick
According to the researchers, that pathway involves both a cannabinoid receptor and a serotonin receptor.
Yet when it is blocked, THC can still exert several beneficial effects.
“THC, the major active component of marijuana, has broad medical use - including for pain relief, nausea and anxiety,” said Peter McCormick, from UEA’s school of pharmacy.
“We have identified a biological mechanism that helps explain how THC or a synthetic homolog could be used to treat pain and avoid the memory loss associated with chronic THC exposure,” McCormick told Laboratorytalk.
’Next steps’
“This research is important because it identifies a way to reduce some of what, in medical treatment, are usually thought of as THC’s unwanted side effects, while maintaining several important benefits,” McCormick said.
The study was conducted using mice but McCormick has urged that patients not be tempted to self-medicate.
“Patients should not use cannabis to self-medicate, but I hope that our research will lead to a safe synthetic equivalent being available in the future,” he said.
“The next steps will be to see if this same mechanism identified in rodents exists in humans and if it works in a similar way.”
A full account of the research had been published in the journal PLOS Biology.
